Valtteri Bottas: I made a mistake and lost control of the car

The Austin race was the third in a row in which the Alfa Romeo team did not earn any points. Guanyu Zhou finished thirteenth, but won one place back after a penalty kick from Alex Albon. His teammate Valtteri Bottas crashed into Turn 19 and got stuck in the gravel, triggering the first safety car exit.

Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: “A pretty difficult day for the team – we missed a good chance to earn points. The race looked promising as Valtteri started from a good position and both drivers were comfortable in the car.

At the very beginning there was a clash between Valtteri and Sergio Perez, which caused Valtteri to lose ground, only to be eliminated completely. Zhou performed well considering starting from 18th position. He avoided problems and thanks to the events of the race he was able to regain the positions. In the end, we didn’t do enough to earn points. We missed the opportunity, but the most important thing is that we still maintain sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

We know you’ll have to fight tooth and nail in the final races to secure a position in the championship, but the team can rely on the updated aerodynamic kit. I hope it will help you earn the points you need to achieve an important goal.”

Guanyu Zhou (12th): “I knew it was going to be a difficult race, given the start from the last positions. I tried to earn back, but it was impossible to keep the opponents on fresh tires in the last laps. I tried to stay out of trouble, hoping something would work in our favor, but the calculation didn’t work.

In general, the day turned out to be difficult, but in a few days at least we have a stage in Mexico City. We are going to the next Grand Prix in a good mood, because we showed high speed on the track. There is no doubt that the novelties prepared for this stage helped a lot, and we added a fast lap to it. We have the speed to get to the qualifying final with two cars.”

Valtteri Bottas (retirement): “We were fast enough to score points, so it’s a shame the race ended so early for me. On the first lap I went into corner ninth and at the last minute I saw Sergio Perez turning into the corner along the inner track.It was very close – luckily there was a light touch between us, but I lost speed and several positions.

I overtook Alex Albon, found the rhythm, but when I tried to overtake Pierre Gasly and got the chance to use DRS, I made a mistake in Turn 19 and lost control of the rear of the car. Later I learned that there was quite a strong gust of wind at the time – this combination resulted in the race being over for me.

It’s a shame because the pace was promising – we had a chance to earn points. I’m looking forward to next weekend in Mexico City to earn some points.”